'stealing' a boat?

For example, on Utopia there's often lots of boats left near the spawn. I've kinda assumed it's OK to take one?

When I get *back* to the spawn, I always try to leave my boat in a place that might be useful to others.

So - is it OK to take a boat you find in wild?

-I suppose this leads on to the 'bigger question' - most players think it's fine to take anything they find in the wild - even in chests. I *now* know it is not, but it certainly is not obvious.

We find chests in dungeons - and yay, take the stuff - and that's part of the game. Therefore it's not suprising that, if a player finds a chest in the wild with stuff in, they think it's fine to loot it.

Of course, it's not.

And of course we should lock up valuables.

But, if I e.g. leave a chest with a bit of dirt and wood, planning to come back later... people seem to think it's fine to take it.

If it has diamond in, is it "less OK"?

What if it's inside a house? Even a little dirt thing?

Maybe we need a clearer guideline for this.

Current commandment, "Do not steal from other players, even if you find an unlocked player chest in the wilderness"

How do you know if it's a 'player chest'?

Of course, "common sense" goes a long way here; if I'm starving-to-death and find a chest with wheat, I might make a loaf. I would also probably plant seeds to get more for 'em.

Well herb, im no mod, but you could probably tell if it was a player chest or not and see the surroundings, and whats in the chest, but if we werent able to take chests from dungeons then wouldnt we not have cocoa beans as much? And saddles for that matter. If its in a dungeon, id prolly suspect it was a naturally occuring one but to me when you find one in a mineshaft, its the same deal as dungeon. All im saying is, you could probably tell which ones were player originated and natural. The boat deal was probably ok, any sane person would have broken the boat if they wanted to use the boat later.

Well herb, im no mod, but you could probably tell if it was a player chest or not and see the surroundings, and whats in the chest, but if we werent able to take chests from dungeons then wouldnt we not have cocoa beans as much? And saddles for that matter. If its in a dungeon, id prolly suspect it was a naturally occuring one but to me when you find one in a mineshaft, its the same deal as dungeon. All im saying is, you could probably tell which ones were player originated and natural. The boat deal was probably ok, any sane person would have broken the boat if they wanted to use the boat later.

I agree, but the problem is all the "probably", you see?If *I* find an apparently-untouched-spawner with 2 iron ingots, a diamond, a bucket, and a sulphur, I'll take it. If it had 3 diamond block, I'd leave it.

If I found a chest on over-ground with diamonds, I'd leave it.

But - being honest - if I found an over-ground chest with bread, and was desperate for food, I'd take it to eat - but I'd plant and grow more. I did that once.

I've *definitely* taken boats from around the spawns; we all leave 'em there? But what about in the wild? 100 blocks out? 1000?

And if I found a chest over-ground with diamonds, I'd leave it alone.

I'm even careful not to break a single block. But sometimes when digging, I've dug right in to what is clearly someone's work; in which case, I've 'backed out' and replaced as best I can.

But, that's hard for people to understand. Very hard.

And some people will say, "ooh, I didn't know, I thought it was OK"

I don't know all the answers, but I think we could do with clearer rules.

I use discarded boats all the time. I leave them around all the time too. One can't pick a boat up and cart it around, so I would like to think someone will use the ones I leave. I'd rather that than just people crashing them into bits.

For example, on Utopia there's often lots of boats left near the spawn. I've kinda assumed it's OK to take one?

When I get *back* to the spawn, I always try to leave my boat in a place that might be useful to others.

So - is it OK to take a boat you find in wild?

-I suppose this leads on to the 'bigger question' - most players think it's fine to take anything they find in the wild - even in chests. I *now* know it is not, but it certainly is not obvious.

We find chests in dungeons - and yay, take the stuff - and that's part of the game. Therefore it's not suprising that, if a player finds a chest in the wild with stuff in, they think it's fine to loot it.

Of course, it's not.

And of course we should lock up valuables.

But, if I e.g. leave a chest with a bit of dirt and wood, planning to come back later... people seem to think it's fine to take it.

If it has diamond in, is it "less OK"?

What if it's inside a house? Even a little dirt thing?

Maybe we need a clearer guideline for this.

Current commandment, "Do not steal from other players, even if you find an unlocked player chest in the wilderness"

How do you know if it's a 'player chest'?

Of course, "common sense" goes a long way here; if I'm starving-to-death and find a chest with wheat, I might make a loaf. I would also probably plant seeds to get more for 'em.

If a boat is floating near spawn and is clearly abandoned, feel free to use it. Maybe on the return journey leave one there in its place for the next person to use.

I don't see it as 'stealing' as such, if it has been abandoned. I think of it more like if someone planted a tree, feel free to cut it down, but be courteous and plant a sapling in it's place.

But how is it "clearly abandoned"? Maybe the person planned to come back later. What if it was a mine-cart - does the same apply? If not, why not?

If, in real life, I took a bicycle that was left somewhere - that'd be stealing. I couldn't say to the police "hey, it was clearly abandoned!"

If people think it's OK to take a boat, that makes it seem OK to take other things.

If Empire want to provide free boats near spawns - fine, do that, through a chest, maybe? Or make an area (a bay/port) with signs, saying "Leave boats you don't want in this area, so that others can use them" or something.

But how is it "clearly abandoned"? Maybe the person planned to come back later. What if it was a mine-cart - does the same apply? If not, why not?

If, in real life, I took a bicycle that was left somewhere - that'd be stealing. I couldn't say to the police "hey, it was clearly abandoned!"

If people think it's OK to take a boat, that makes it seem OK to take other things.

If Empire want to provide free boats near spawns - fine, do that, through a chest, maybe? Or make an area (a bay/port) with signs, saying "Leave boats you don't want in this area, so that others can use them" or something.

Mostly - what I said before.

I abandon my boats at the outposts. I am glad folks feel free to use them. I do not think it will make people more likely to steal.

You can not leave chests or minecarts in the protected area. So yes, I think there is a big difference between jumping in a boat in the protected area and running across a chest in the wilderness. It is not even a fuzzy line. No one is going to say - "hey I took this abandoned boat.. not I can steal diamonds." I have a stronger faith in the reasoning skills and morals of most players.

Or what if there's wood planks in a chest - and someone uses those to make a boat?

And as I asked before, what if it was a mine-cart, instead of a boat - would that be OK too?

Please note - I'm just asking. I've taken boats from the spawn areas too - but now, I want to make sure of the rules.

You either are 1. Trying to find some error in there somewhere or 2. Paranoid you're going to get in trouble "stealing" a boat. Either way I"m confused. If I see an empty boat just floating out in the water and nobody near it I use it, or I just swim because I bash boats to pieces just by breathing on them, they're so easy to break.

But how is it "clearly abandoned"? Maybe the person planned to come back later. What if it was a mine-cart - does the same apply? If not, why not?

If, in real life, I took a bicycle that was left somewhere - that'd be stealing. I couldn't say to the police "hey, it was clearly abandoned!"

If people think it's OK to take a boat, that makes it seem OK to take other things.

If Empire want to provide free boats near spawns - fine, do that, through a chest, maybe? Or make an area (a bay/port) with signs, saying "Leave boats you don't want in this area, so that others can use them" or something.

We can't exactly compare minecraft to real life, otherwise we could send other people to another planet/universe if they stole all our diamonds, or poured a bucket of lava on our roofs (with appropriate proof of course ).

We can take our moral life lessons into our online world though, and while 'stealing' isn't acceptable behavior in either world, I don't know anyone who would walk past a $20 note if it were sitting on the side of the road at a busy intersection. I may ask people close by if they had possibly lost some money, but if no-one is the rightful owner i consider it abandoned.

We could build a small boat dock at the water based spawns, but that isnt a guarantee other players will place their pre-loved boats there. Which could leave 20 boats scattered around spawn, but none in dock, therefore none available for use.

I am not saying it is ok to steal from chests, or take other items from other places in the wild. All I'm saying is that if boats are left abandoned at spawn they are ok for public use. By abandoned I mean no one currently using it, and no one in vicinity claiming ownership of it.

If boats were retrievable without breaking them, I imagine a lot more of us would collect them after we use them, for future use.